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Why You Shouldn’t Use Vegetable Oils

Oil is such a big subject! I started reading more about it last year and narrowed down my choices. I also spoke with my naturopath more recently and tweaked the list further.

As a general rule, unrefined, unfiltered (this makes an oil cloudy), cold pressed, virgin oil is best to buy. Also stoneground, if you can find it. Those words/phrases on a label mean that an oil has had less processing.

The general rule of thumb is to store oils in a cupboard, or buy them in a dark green glass bottle. Oils exposed to sunlight can become rancid.

Why You Shouldn’t Use Vegetable Oils

Here’s the low down on oils for ‘culinary use’ that I keep in mind for my own oil consumption. I’ve added colours to these bullet points so you can pick out oils that should be used cold or that have high smoke points (pink) .. advice aside from cooking (orange and green).

Unrefined Sesame Seed Oil has a high smoke point, so it’s great for cooking. It can also be used to moisten dry skin, can help to relieve constipation, detoxify the body, destroy most fungal skin diseases and is a great massage oil for sore muscles and the pain of arthritis/rheumatism.

Unrefined Avocado Oil is another great cooking choice, with a high smoke point. It has a mild flavour and I feel it’s a better option than olive oil. It also happens to be a great choice for relieving the itchiness of skin rashes.

Unrefined Coconut Oil has a high smoke point. You can buy it with a strong coconut taste or a reduced version. It’s also a wonderful oil to use cold in sweet recipes. Coconut oil solidifies at 76 degrees F, 24 degrees C, so expect a runny oil only during the hot months!

Organically produced Clarified Butter (Ghee) (for meat eaters) has a high smoke point and is a better choice than margarine or refined cooking oils. With factory farming practices as they are, organic is the best choice, so you’re not ingesting hormones/antibiotics that animals are given whilst being reared.

Unrefined Olive Oil is a great choice, although not for high temperature cooking.

Unrefined Pumpkin Seed Oil is highly recommended by some and dismissed by others. Only use this oil cold.

Unrefined Flaxseed Oil, the same as pumpkin.

Vegetable Oils should be avoided in general, including Canola (Rapeseed), given that most of them are refined. This means they are chemically extracted, deodorised and altered to an unhealthy status by the time they’re in a bottle ready for purchase. If you have a trusted source of organic vegetable oils, it’s fine to use them, but it’s wise to avoid refined vegetable oils.

Health author Paul Pitchford’s advice is that unrefined, monounsaturated oils such as olive, sesame and avocado are a better choice than coconut oil or clarified butter (one of the most stable oils, for those who eat animal products) for people with too much stored fat or choleresterol. See his additional advice in green above.

Ooh! Really?!

Pitchford also believes that oil consumption – oil being an extracted product and not a ‘whole food’ – should be kept to a minimum. He suggests no oil for people with sluggishness, tumours, candida, yeast overgrowth etc.

His advice normal, healthy people is 1 teaspoon per day, which is very low and gosh (!) would be hard to manage. It did make me think though .. and I do try to eat significantly less than I used to. I’ll share more about that with you in future, with recipes!

I’m aware that everyone has beliefs about oils and which are best. For now, this is just my own reference list. I hope this has been interesting and helpful to you. I use them all (bar vegetable oils and ghee – the latter because it’s a cow product and I avoid them).

Rapeseed oil tends to be non organic and highly refined Wendy. It’s not just about smoke points. It’s about the quality of the oils. I stopped using it – along with other vegetable oils – for that reason.